Rarely do I go into raptures about the beauty of a deck. There are many
tarots that I find lovely, even beautiful, but few take my breath away. One that
does is Tarot of the Millennium and I did rhapsodize about
it in print. The Initiatory Tarot of the Masters not only makes me weak in the knees
because of its beauty, it even reminds me of that beloved deck in terms of size,
color, and compositional design.

But there's one thing this deck has that even Tarot of the Millennium does
not--there's gold in them thar cards! Silver, too. And these shimmering colors
look like they were liberally applied by hand, giving these cards a rich and luxurious
feel. When I look at these cards, I feel like a wealthy patron who commissioned
an artist to create a deck for me.

Some of these retitlings are familiar (Adam Kadmon), but I was unfamiliar
with several, such as Eve Anastasia (The Empress) and Nuélis
(The Moon). But, as stated earlier, the images are not just uniquely beautiful,
they are quite understandable to tarot enthusiasts of any language. The reading
I did with these cards seemed particularly profound and powerful, despite my
lack of familiarity with the history/myth of Le
Chevalier Baucens, one of the cards that came up in the reading. The
richness and beauty of the images conspire with the reader to form deep
conceptual interpretations. The cards connect with one another in a way that
builds continuity and pattern, aiding in sharing a cogent tarot story.

You can see
connections to the traditional Fool in the Hermit (top right), as he stands on a
precipice. One of his feet has wings, yet the lantern he carries indicates that
the inner flame he has nurtured can now guide him into typically dangerous
realms. The Lovers card (Le Maitre de Choix) emphasizes choice, as opposed to a
more love-oriented image. There is only one person on the card, yet he is the
picture of duality. He carries two books, one red, one blue. The blue book is
emblazoned with the glyph of Mercury, indicating the life of the mind; the red
book's glyph is Venus, denoting love. Even his outfit and shoes illustrate the
split between red and blue, and his hair is half-black, half-white.

The Wheel of Fortune (Le Maitre de Cycle)
shows a Sagittarian archer (Jupiter-ruled, after all) as he stands by the Wheel
of Life, focusing and aiming towards heights unseen. A snake is wrapped about
his leg, a white dove flies upward--there are so many symbols to interpret, some
traditional, some unique.

The "little" white booklet (LWB) that comes with the deck is almost
100 pages, making it not so little. However, this length is mainly due to the
fact that the deck information is in three languages: French, English, and
Spanish. The LWB contains an introduction to the deck, lists of colors and
numbers and their symbolic meaning, and short descriptions of each card,
including a positive and negative meaning. These are rather unusual--often the
negative meaning includes a dis-ease, such as psychosomatic illnesses for the
Magician, and "arthritis, rheumatism, broken bones, skin problems, viral
infections, and allergies" for Death (Le
Passage). The LWB ends with a "Reading Guide to the Tarot of the
Masters" that includes three spreads. There is also a full-sized book
available on this deck, Tarot of the Masters: The Twenty-Two Keys.

Cards measure two and a half by four and a half inches and are on sturdy
matte cardstock. Backs are blue and gold
and are reversible. Justice is VIII, Strength, XI, as is typical of European
decks. The name of the deck is Tarot Initiatique des Maitres on one side of the
box, Tarot Initiatico de Los Maestros on the other...and the LWB calls the deck
Tarot Des Maitres, which is confusing indeed.

But this is the only inconsistency in a cohesive and magnificent deck,
certainly not one that should stop you from grabbing it if you see it anywhere.
As it was a gift, I unfortunately can not give you any purchasing information,
though it is possible you can obtain it from Yves
Daniel.

I can, however, share an amusing insight I gleaned from this gift. A friend
gave me two decks, telling me that one was the most beautiful deck in the world.
While I like (and plan to soon review) the deck she thought so exquisite, I fell
in love with this one, about which she was much less enthusiastic. This reminded
me anew that what I find beautiful is not remotely universal, but purely
subjective. A good and humbling aide memoire for a reviewer, but scans protect
me from projecting my concept of beauty onto an unwitting public!